Stanford rally has UW reeling

Stunning turn in last second, OT sends Huskies to 2nd loss in row

Published 10:00 pm, Sunday, January 29, 2006

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- There was no actual hard copy of Washington's three-goal checklist. As Brandon Roy said, it was in the Huskies' mental Rolodex.

Real or imagined, Stanford ripped it to shreds Sunday night.

It was all checked off, too.

Chris Hernandez, who was fouled while trying to launch a desperate 3-pointer by the Huskies' Justin Dentmon with a bare two-tenths of a second remaining in regulation play, sank three free throws without flinching, and the Cardinal used this golden reprieve to pull out an improbable 76-67 victory in overtime at Maples Pavilion.

For the second consecutive game, opposing fans stormed the floor and celebrated at the expense of the UW (16-4 overall, 5-4 Pac-10), which was swept on a conference road trip for the first time in two full years -- since dropping another pair in the Bay Area.

After beating Gonzaga for the first time in seven seasons and toppling UCLA at Pauley Pavilion for the first time in 19 years, the Huskies couldn't secure the third objective on their regular-season wish list.

Instead of pocketing their first win at Maples in 13 seasons, they went home with a devastating loss.

"It's important at this point that we don't take a nosedive," UW coach Lorenzo Romar said, his team dropping to fifth place in the league standings. "I've seen teams not recover from it."

Trailing 63-60 with 2.1 seconds remaining, the Cardinal (10-7, 6-3) kept this one going with a perfectly executed play: Dan Grunfeld inbounded to 6-foot-11 center Matt Haryasz at midcourt, and Haryasz turned and rifled a pass to Hernandez, streaking down the right side to the 3-point line. Dentmon, the UW's freshman point guard, hacked Stanford's senior guard a few ticks before the buzzer sounded.

"We call it 'Home run,' " Haryasz said.

"We've been working on it for two years and never really done it," Hernandez said.

"Chris beat his man," Haryasz added. "Chris made the play."

Hernandez, a career 85-percent foul shooter, swished the first two attempts before rattling in the third and tying shot. He admitted to saying a prayer before facing the ultimate pressure situation. He also mentioned that this wasn't new to him, that he had hit several last-second free throws dating back to high school.

His teammates never doubted the clutch, competitive senior. Hernandez went 9-for-9 from the foul line for the game and finished with 15 points.

"When Chris went to the line, Danny said, 'What's up?' " Haryasz recalled. "I said, 'Chilling. Chris is going to make them and we're going to overtime.' "

He did, and they did.

Stanford scored the first five points of overtime, and the shocked Huskies had nothing more to give.

"I don't think it crossed my mind that we were going to lose that game," said Roy, who led all scorers with 25 points.

The Huskies had expected this last-second play. They talked about it. They didn't stop it on multiple fronts. In hindsight, they would have preferred that Hernandez take the 3-pointer unchallenged.

Dentmon was in such agony over the game-extending play, he was the last one out of the shower and the last player to leave the locker room. He repeatedly huddled with all of his coaches and support personnel.

"It was a dumb foul," the dejected first-year player said quietly. "I thought I fouled him after the buzzer. The camera showed I didn't. It was a mental mistake. I've just got to put it behind me. I became a man tonight. It'll just make me stronger."

The Huskies led nearly the entire game, by as many as eight on several occasions, before facing the harried finish.

Inside the final 5.9 seconds, the teams combined to call seven timeouts, plotting and plotting. Trailing 61-60 and going for the game-winner, Seattle native Mitch Johnson of the Cardinal tried to force one into Haryasz and threw it to Roy. The game appeared over at that point. Grunfeld wisely fouled Roy with 2.1 seconds remaining. Roy made both foul shots.

Then came the "Home run." Out went the checklist.

"For the first time in basketball, I felt sorry for myself," Roy said.